Doctor Hart beats on despite retirement

Dr. Paul Hart Paul Hart has been a physician in Sterling since 1978, taking care of families and their children who have grown up and have children of their own under his care. Hart is a figure in the community and beyond, traveling to other continents to offer his medical expertise and assist in treating the underprivileged.

Hart retired as a medical doctor this month, and will be missed by his countless patients from around the region, as well as the staff in his Leominster Road office.

Hart has had three offices in Sterling since beginning his practice in the '70s, all within three miles of each other. The first was right in the center of town, on Main Street, and the second was on Bean Road. He made his final move to the current office in 1997.

One of Hart's passions has been medical missionary work, which he began in 1990 with a trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he worked treating refugees from a civil war in that country. Worldwide, he has done medical missionary work in the Ukraine, Moldova, Brazil, Nepal, and South Africa. Within the United States he has traveled to New Orleans and Arizona to work in the Bureau of Indian Affairs Reservation Hospital.

When asked what he will miss the most about his practice, Dr. Hart doesn't hesitate to say, "The patients… that was the most difficult decision, because I have had some wonderful patients I have taken care of for 25 plus years. They need somebody who is there in a constant basis. You get used to the routine. It will be a change."

Besides being a global and national ambassador, Hart also strives to make a difference in Sterling. He once brought home a picture from a trip to South Africa, and gave it to Rebecca Asibey, who has worked in his office for a year. Hart wanted Asibey to give it to her children, but when she took it home they started fighting over it. Word got back to Hart, and he took matters into his own hands.

"He left work, went home, and got another picture," said Asibey.

Joan Hirst has worked with Hart for nearly 23 years as an accountant part time.

"I am going to miss him because he has a wonderful sense of humor," Hirst said. "He took care of my kids, especially my son who is asthmatic, and he would always greet him with 'Hi, guy!' My kids just loved him as a physician. He was very dedicated to his patients."

He has volunteered extensively as a school physician at Tahanto Regional High School and the Berlin Public Schools. Hart established two free medical services, one in 1993 at the Epworth United Methodist Church in Worcester and another one in 2004 at Temple Beth El in Sudbury.

Hart will continue his work with the free clinics, as well as ongoing projects in South Africa and the Amazon.

"I am going to be doing the volunteer work that I have always wanted to do. Those are definitely ongoing. I am going back to South Africa, and the Amazon," Hart said. "A lot of my time will be spent planning for the projects in South Africa; there is a lot to do. I much prefer the traveling with the medical element, it makes it much more worthwhile."

As a result of his community service, Hart has received many awards and has been recognized for his service by Worcester State College, the Unitarian Universalist Church in Worcester, the Lions Clubs of Massachusetts, the Worcester District Medical Society, University of Massachusetts Medical School, New England United Methodist Conference, and the Leominster United Methodist Church.